A patient with a congenital hole in his heart and inverted veins was treated with a small incision.

Rıdvan Yaman, who went to the hospital in Istanbul with complaints of chest pain and palpitations and was diagnosed with a congenital heart hole and reversed blood vessels, regained his health with a minimally invasive surgery performed without opening his rib cage.

Living in the city, 34-year-old Rıdvan Yaman applied to Başakşehir Çam and Sakura City Hospital two months ago with complaints of severe chest pain and palpitations.

During his examinations at the Cardiovascular Surgery Clinic, it was determined that Yaman had a congenital heart hole and his veins were inverted.

Yaman was operated on by Cardiovascular Surgery Clinic Administrative Manager Prof. Dr. Mehmed Yanartaş, Op. Dr. Osman Fehmi Beyazal and their team.

In the surgery, which was performed through an approximately 5-centimeter incision and lasted 5 hours, Yaman's heart defect was repaired without opening his rib cage, and the veins that were opposite his heart were also corrected.

Thanks to the operation performed with a small incision, Yaman was taken out of intensive care and into the ward on the second day of the surgery.

Prof. Dr. Mehmed Yanartaş told an AA correspondent that the patient came to them about two months ago with various complaints, such as shortness of breath.

Yanartaş, noting that the patient had previously consulted the cardiology clinic, said, "During the examinations performed there, it was discovered that he had a congenital hole in his heart, a hole in his heart due to the inverted connection of the veins returning to the heart, and shortness of breath. He then applied to us to have these repaired."

Prof. Dr. Yanartaş emphasized that Yaman was admitted to the hospital and a detailed examination was conducted, saying, "We performed his tests; his CT scans and echocardiograms had already been performed. Then, we took him into surgery. During the surgery, we made a small incision under the breast, repaired the hole in the heart, rerouted the deviated vessels to the correct location with a patch made from the heart's own membrane, and repaired the heart. This was our surgical procedure."

Yanartaş, reminding that the patient had complaints of shortness of breath before the surgery, continued as follows:

The surgery took about five hours. We have to use some special equipment in these surgeries. We need to intervene in the body's vessels from different places, both in the groin and neck, to visualize the heart. Of course, we also use special imaging methods for small incisions. That's why the surgery, while normally 2.5-3 hours, took about five hours in this one. We have now completed this process.

Op. Dr. Osman Fehmi Beyazal noted that operations performed with small incisions are now frequently preferred in clinics.

Beyazal explained that they used the small-incision treatment method because the patient was young and requested this procedure. He said, "At the patient's request, we decided to perform this surgery this way, and we discharged him promptly, without any problems. We are continuing his checkups. This was his fourth post-operative checkup. He will be with us for a long time in future checkups."

Beyazal stated that the patient is currently experiencing no problems, saying, "The patient's symptoms have already subsided. His pre-operative symptoms have diminished and disappeared completely. His wounds have healed, and there were no complications during the surgery. He was discharged earlier than patients on whom we performed conventional open surgery, weaned him off the ventilator earlier, and his wounds healed earlier."

Beyazal emphasized that these patients need to be evaluated thoroughly before small-incision surgery can be performed, saying, "It wouldn't be right to say it's suitable for every patient. These patients need to be examined, evaluated, and cared for in detail before surgery, and patient selection must be made carefully."

Rıdvan Yaman, whose surgery was successfully performed, explained that he went to the hospital with complaints of dizziness, chest pain, headache and, most of all, palpitations, and said:

"I first consulted an internal medicine specialist, then was referred to cardiology. The cardiologist recommended a minor procedure for arrhythmia, but when tests revealed a hole in my heart and a vascular problem, I was referred to cardiovascular surgery. Following these tests, I underwent surgery."

Yaman stated that his post-operative checkups are ongoing, saying, "My complaints are gone; I no longer have chest pain or palpitations. I only experience occasional shortness of breath, but it lasts a few hours and then goes away. I've been able to return to my normal life."